NEWS DESK
Heritage ‘Ramsay House’ opens for first time A SMALL holiday house perched on a cliff above Ranelagh Beach at Mt Eliza will be open to the public later this month for the first time in its 82-year history. Small it may be, but Ramsay House, built in 1937, is big in architecture, heritage and history circles. It is considered to be an influential example of the work of famous Melbourne architect Roy Grounds (later Sir Roy), who designed the house for Betty Ramsay, wife of Thomas Ramsay (later Sir Thomas), chairman of the famous Australian company Kiwi Boot Polish. The house has been restored over several years by its custodian, Victoria Grounds, the architect daughter of Roy Grounds, and is on the Victorian Heritage Register, as are Ranelagh Estate’s public areas. When the house was registered in 2008, Heritage Council Victoria chair Daryl Jackson said its design was influential in the development of modern architecture in Victoria. With its minimalist, open-plan design and use of natural materials, it set new standards for the era’s modernist approach. Sir Roy Grounds (1905–81) is best known for designing the world heritage listed Australian Academy of Science building in Canberra (now known as the Shine Dome and evocative of a flying saucer), the National Gallery of Victoria and the Victorian Arts Centre, both in Melbourne, and, locally, the round house at the bottom of Olivers Hill in Frankston for the Henty family in 1953. Grounds married Betty Ramsay in 1941 and eventually came to live in the house himself. It was where their daughter Victoria spent her early childhood. The house was sold to architect Frederick Romberg and his wife Verena in 1953. Their descendants put it on the market in 2006 and it was acquired by Victoria Grounds the following year. The small cottage is one of few remaining early houses built in Ranelagh, the estate
Council’s common ground on trains Continued from Page 1
Clifftop cottage: On the first floor balcony of Ramsay House, overlooking Port Phillip, in about 1970 are, from left, architecture students (and later architects) Tony Styant-Browne and Peter Jacobs with house owner Verena Romberg. Picture: John Gollings
designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin in 1924. The couple is best known for their award-winning design of Canberra. Ramsay House is a plain, two-storey box 4.4 metres by 9 metres (14.5 feet by 30 feet) with a footprint of 40 square metres and total floor area of 70sqm. All rooms including the tiny first-floor bathroom have expansive views of the beach and Port Phillip. Ramsay House will be open only, on Sunday
28 April. Cost: $24. Visitor numbers are strictly limited and bookings are required. All proceeds will go to continuing the restoration of the house, which won the award for Restoration of a Heritage Place at the 2018 Mornington Peninsula Heritage Awards, jointly run by National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and Mornington Peninsula Shire. Book at: www.trybooking.com/book/ event?eid=487050& Mike Hast
“Stage one of this vital public transport project would ease car parking congestion at Frankston station and will directly benefit Frankston’s health and education precinct, which includes Frankston Hospital, Frankston Private Hospital and Monash University Peninsula Campus,” Cr O’Reilly said. “Given recent major investments within the precinct, including the Victorian government’s $562 million upgrade to Frankston Hospital, it is important to provide the transport infrastructure needed to cater for the expected visitor growth.” The two municipalities have a combined population of 305,000, with Frankston classed as a metropolitan activity centre and Hastings a major activity centre. Cr Gill said that with an estimated 82 per cent of the peninsula having no access to bus services and limited access to such services as health and higher education “the region is in desperate need of greater investment into bus services”. “The shire has the second lowest provision of public transport out of the 31 councils in the Melbourne metro area,” he said. “The aged, youth and mobility affected deserve at least a basic level of service no matter where they live. “The existing 788 bus service carries more than half a million passengers annually, with current frequencies from 45 to 100 minutes failing to meet growing demand. “We need the Victorian and federal governments to get moving on these public transport projects that will deliver better outcomes for our joint communities.”
The Minister for Planning releases the final Scoping Requirements for the Boundary Road Quarry The Minister for Planning has approved and released the final Scoping Requirements for the Environment Effect Statement (EES). This has been prepared after reviewing and considering all submissions on the Draft Scoping Requirements which outlines the proposed assessment for the environmental impacts of re-establishing quarrying and accessing new resources at the Boundary Road Quarry site. These requirements confirm the scope of work required. A detailed list of studies/investigations will cover matters including flora and fauna, waterways, cultural heritage, groundwater, noise, traffic, planning, air quality, bushfire and visual impacts of the site. This will take time; typically an EES will take at least two years to complete.
Email us on: info@boundaryroad.com.au Call us on: 1300 407 690
During the study period, reports will be reviewed and guidance given, by the Technical Review Group (TRG). The TRG is made up of representatives from the Department of Water, Environment, Land and Planning, Earth Resources Regulation, Heritage Victoria, Aboriginal Victoria, Melbourne Water, Environment Protection Authority, Parks Victoria, VicRoads, Country Fire Authority, Southern Rural Water and Mornington Peninsula Shire. The Scoping Requirements can be viewed and downloaded from DELWP’s website: https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/environment-assessment/browseprojects/projects/boundary-road-quarry If you have questions or would like to receive regular updates contact Sally or Margie.
Visit our website: www.boundaryroad.com.au
Mornington News
16 April 2019
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